How I Think The Political War Against The Right Wing Fundamentalists Should Be Fought

So, how should the new extreme rhetoric coming out of the right be fought?

The simple answer is that you determine the source of the rhetoric, the one or ones whom people tend to revolve around. Once the source has been identified (with proof) then this source must be neutralized and you have to make sure that this source is completely neutralized. That doesn't mean you have to or should kill them (but if you are attacked you should be ready to defend yourself). Also, if you are scared of dying then your moves will be filled with fear. It is better to determine a point of attack and then hold that point no matter what (unless you are wrong, then you adjust your actions according to the truth). A political 'enemy' is neutralized, not by attacking their followers, but by making sure their power is gone and will never, ever return. This is done by isolating them and their lies from their followers.

The extracts in this article are from the book The 48 Laws of Power is for anyone "interested in gaining, observing, or defending against power." In other words, to defend against power you have to understand it and then apply them. Keep in mind that any political war fought by people interested in peace MUST be a defensive war but in any defensive war sometimes offense is best (such as from 2012 onwards).

To win this is the path that must be followed...

1. Find the source of power.

2. Understand how the propaganda works

3. Strike (public exposure) and isolate the leader(s)

4. Expose all connections and secrets in a public way so there is no misunderstanding as to the guilt of the leaders of this source of power.

To fight a political war you need to first understand that every group has a source of power.

As explained in the 48 Laws of Power...

In the past, an entire nation would be ruled by a king and his handful of ministers. only elite had any power to play with. Over the centuries, power has gradually become more and more diffused and democratized. this has created, however, a common misperception that groups no longer have centers of power - that power is spread out and scattered among many people.

Actually, however, power has changed in its numbers but not in its essence. There may be a few mighty tyrants commanding the power of life and death over millions, but there remain thousands of petty tyrants ruling smaller realms, and enforcing their will through indirect power games, charisma, and so on. In every group, power is concentrated in the hands of one or two people, for this is one area in which human nature will never change: People will congregate around a single strong personality like planets orbiting a sun.

To labor under the illusion that this kind of power center no longer exists is to make endless mistakes, waste energy and time, and never hit the target. Powerful people never waste time. Outwardly they may play along with game - pretending that power is shared among many - but inwardly they keep their eyes on the inevitable few in the group who hold the cards. These are the ones they work on. When troubles arise, then look for the underlying cause, the single strong character who started the stirring and whose isolation or banishment will settle the waters again. Page 363, The 48 Laws of Power

Power still functions the same way as it has throughout our history. The rules are the same. You either play by the rules or you are food for the one that does.

The above institute also recommends talking and avoiding demonization hoping to win over the new republicans with reason and goodwill. The problem with this approach is that anyone who disagrees with the new republican philosophy is automatically 'the other' and being nice just makes them think that this is some sort of ploy. Cult followers are people who quote slogans and refuse to reason, believing that only with the implementation of their vague lies will there be a return to a 'golden age' or future paradise.

To end a political war, First, you have to genuinely hold the moral high ground (not just espouse morality). Second, you need to establish a base of support. Third you need to take out the leader. Bear in mind that in our civilized modern age you should be able to do this with an isolation tactic, if your only solution is physical violence then you don't hold the moral high ground. If someone else attacks you with violence and you defend against it, then you do hold the moral highground, at least for that debate.

The basic law is this...

Law 42: Strike The Shepherd And The Sheep Will Scatter

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual - the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the prisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them - they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

For Example:

Near the end of the sixth century B.C., the city state of Athens overthrew the series of petty tyrants who had dominated its politics for decades. It established instead a democracy that was to last over a century, a democracy that became the source of its power and its proudest achievement. But as the democracy evolved, so did a problem the Athenians had never faced: How to deal with those who did not concern themselves with the cohesion of a small city surrounded by enemies, who did not work for its greater glory, but thought of only themselves and their own ambitions and petty intrigues? The Athenians understood that these people, if left alone, would sow dissension, divide the city into factions, and stir up anxieties, all of which could lead to the ruin of their democracy.

The Athenians solution was to get everyone in the city to write down the name of someone they wanted banished and the highest number of votes to any person would get him banned for 10 years. This practice stopped when a powerless citizen with nothing but 'being an irritation' as his offense, was banished because the Athenians felt that their practice had been demeaned.

The Ancient Athenians had certain qualities in their citizens which made their democracy strong...

The ancient Athenians had social instincts unknown today - the passage of centuries has blunted them. Citizens in the true sense of the word, the Athenians sensed the dangers posed by asocial behavior, and saw how such behavior often disguises itself in other forms: the holier-then-thou attitude that silently seeks to impose its standards on others; overweening ambition at the expense of the common good; the flaunting of superiority; quite scheming; terminal obnoxiousness. Some of these behaviors would eat away at the city's cohesion by creating factions and sowing dissension, others would ruin the democratic spirit by making the common citizen feel inferior and envious. The Athenians did not try to reeducate people who acted in these ways, or to absorb them somehow into the group, or to impose a violent punishment that would only create others problems. The solution was quick and effective: Get rid of them.

The Koch and Murdoch Echo Chambers

No man need despair of gaining converts to the extravagant hypothesis who has art enough to represent it in favorable colors.

David Hume. 1711 - 1776

The law...

Law 31: Control The Options: Get Others To Play With the Cards You Deal

The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.

By putting out many different people and personalities and books around one theme, no matter what your base chooses, they will be following the path that you want their views to take.

Above: 'Conservative' Echo Chamber through Murdoch's Network (using multiple books on one view, talking about one perspective ONLY on a network owned by one man, i.e. the new republican party is an invention using multiple media channels all owned by the same group. Ironically, or perhaps, intelligently, the 'left' (i.e. the networks NOT owned by Murdoch) are grouped together as having a separate agenda thereby creating the 'Us vs. them' dynamic which is very important for creating a cultlike following which is what the new republican party has become as opposed to the true republican party.

The law being followed is this one...

Law 43: Work On The Hearts And Minds Of Others

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

Warning: For various reasons sometimes people take 'mercy' on an enemy. To defeat the new 'conservatism', [which is right wing extremism, divided into chunks by the same media guy] you have to keep going till the job is done...

Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have leaned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: the enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

As the author explains...

"It is not, a question of murder, it is a question of banishment. Sufficiently weakened and then exiled from your court forever, your enemies are rendered harmless.They have no hope of recovering, insinuating themselves or hurting you. And if they cannot be banished, at least understand that they are plotting against you, and pay no heed to whatever friendliness they feign. your only weapon in such a situation is your own wariness. If you cannot banish them immediately, then plot for the best time to act."

Also, you should note that telling the truth will not be easy and will most certainly NOT be welcome...

Law 32: Play To People's Fantasies

The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.

To win this political war you have to be ready to face the anger and ire you will stir up for disturbing peoples sense of order. When people think you should take a break and give 'the poor evil guy a rest', just take the anger, understand thier position [remembering they are either followers or are not grown up enough to 'take the heat'] and keep on attacking, strategically of course, until your goal is reached.

That is how Bush and Cheney got away from any investigation into the largest attacks on the United States mainland in it's history. Something that would have been debated publicly in any democratically run government.

1. Determine the leader(s) of that movement. Even a visible leader can be a patsy that is why you have to look deep. You have to look under the surface of appearances to the source.

2. Don't bother arguing with the followers. Followers are by their nature 'true believers'some are opportunists taking advantage of an opportunity to get power or take out pent up anger/insecurity on others. But most really do believe in what they repeat. And if rhetoric condoning violence is part of the movement then violence will occur (especially if they lose an election). Be nice to the true believers, make them friends by putting aside politics between you two if possible.

3. Strike the source or the 'shepherd'. Be relentless and merciless. Once you are secure and you have gauged it safe to attack the shepherd then begin and don't rest till the source has been permanently isolated. This will cause the followers of this source to scatter.

4. Always hold the moral high ground. That way even if you lose in the short run you will probably win in the long run as long as information isn't completely controlled by the source of the political problems. [Yes, you may not win if you fight a follower AND with the violent rhetoric, without a clear source to isolate, you risk getting physically attacked. If it gets to that point you need to have the courage to face it and defend yourself if necessary... OR you can skip the anger and strike the shepherd].

Quotes

"Make peace with the universe. Take joy in it. It will turn to gold. Resurrection will be now. Every moment, a new beauty." - Rumi

"God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that." - Joseph Campbell

"Naturally, every age thinks that all ages before it were prejudiced, and today we think this more than ever and are just as wrong as all previous ages that thought so. How often have we not seen the truth condemned! It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history." - Carl Jung

"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society." - George Washington

“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.” - Dalai Lama

“Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison. When the door is so wide open?” ― Rumi